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Friday, February 19, 2010

Going Local

I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now. I know it's been out for awhile, but I'm pretty slow on the uptake. Actually, I originally ignored it because I thought it was probably too radical for me. But I was wrong! It's a fabulous read and I'm learning so much about making informed decisions about my food purchases. I've even been inspired to avoid buying fruits and veggies at my grocery store. Every week, my little family heads over to our local Farmers' Market and buys our supplies for the week. I'm finding the food tastes a million times better, is often less expensive and is challenging me to cook with whatever is in season now.

I bring a large canvas bag to store all my purchases in, but I found it frustrating that I didn't have anything to put my individual purchases in. For example, every time I bought oranges, I would have to get a plastic bag from the farmer and fill it with my choices for weighing. I felt pretty bad about going to the trouble of going to the Farmers' Market and hurting the environment by using plastic bags.

Which brings me to the Goodwill. In addition to making more environmentally correct food choices, I'm also trying to consume less. When I do need to buy something, I have been checking the Goodwill and other second-hand stores to see if I can buy gently-used items. On a recent trip I found some funky, 1970s style curtains. Orange and brown. The hot colors for kitchens in the 1970s, but not really hip for today's decor. As I held those curtains in my hands, I knew they would be a perfect solution for my produce bag issue. I snapped them up and hurried home to my sewing machine.

I was able to get 6 drawstring bags from one panel. I think the bags are perfect to fill with produce and pretty whimsical too. The weight of the cloth probably adds an ounce or two to the fruit's weight, but since that's money going to my local farmers, I don't really mind. I feel like this is a truly "green" project since I recycled the material and saved a landfill from the both the old curtains and plastic bags. I'm thinking Barbara Kingsolver would be proud!

I'm looking into making some from netting or organza next for my grocery store trips. I know the cashiers at the big supermarkets need to be able to see the stickers on the produce in order to ring them up.

I am keeping a few of the bags for myself, but have also listed some in my shop. If you want to look really hip and save the environment, be sure to pop over and pick-up one or two.

_______________________________*Material Disclosure: I am an affiliate with Amazon books and will receive a commission if you make a purchase via the book link above.I am the owner of the Etsy shop link and will make a profit from purchases made via the shop link above.All other brand mentions are my opinion and I have no material connection.

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Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm Laura Bray. I'm a designer, writer and lifestyle expert. I inspire creative women to live a life of balance and simplicity by sharing my modern twist on the traditional home arts. Whether you cook, sew, are raising children, or running a creative business, you are sure to find some inspiration and ideas.